Guardiola hails hero Silva as one of the best

Istanbul on June 10 and left them just 90 minutes from European glory. Guardiola (pictured), who admitted the team had suffered ‘a year of pain’ since going out at the same stage to the Spanish giants last season, said: ‘We showed the commitment and the intensity and the players were outstanding.’ Asked about Silva making the all-important breakthrough with two goals, he said: ‘Bernardo is always there. He is one of the best players I have ever seen in my life.’ BT Sport’s Rio Ferdinand hailed City for a ‘masterclass’ as Guardiola’s Treblechasing side barely gave holders and record 14time winners Real a kick. Toni Kroos did hit the woodwork at 1-0 but it was a rare bright moment for Carlo Ancelotti’s team, who were overwhelmed. Two goal-Silva told BT Sport: ‘It is a beautiful night for us. We knew it would be tough, but to beat this Real Madrid team 4-0 at home was wonderful. ‘They pushed us, but we were very resilient. We were passionate but organised at the same time. ‘My performance in the first game in Madrid was not the one I wanted and I wanted to compensate for that. Today, I had to do better for my team-mates and the fans — and that is what I tried to do.’ Silva’s second goal was a rare header after Ilkay Gundogan’s shot was blocked, and the diminutive Portuguese midfielder said: ‘I am small but good with my head!’ Asked about the threat of Simone Inzaghi’s Inter after they saw off city rivals Milan on Tuesday night, Silva added: ‘They look very strong and organised defensively. ‘The Premier League is another trophy we want to win with our fans again, so will look to recover before then.’ Jack Grealish described City’s display as ‘unbelievable’ and said they feel ‘unstoppable’ at their home stadium. He said: ‘We spoke last week after the game and I was buzzing then just to be involved. ‘A week later, I’m standing here again and it’s 4-0. I don’t think a lot of teams would do that to Real Madrid, but when we’re all together and just playing, especially here, we feel unstoppable. ‘I don’t know what it is, whether it’s the fans or just playing at home. Even in the league, we feel like no-one can beat us. We’ve seen what we did to Bayern Munich, Leipzig and tonight here. It’s unbelievable.’ Former England and Manchester United striker Michael Owen backed City to win the Treble after being left gobsmacked by their first-half display in particular. The BT Sport pundit said: ‘Manchester City are totally different class from anything on this planet at the moment. They absolutely ripped Real Madrid apart. ‘They have been sensational for the last couple of months. ‘Everybody is fit in their squad, everybody is playing at their top level and they’ve got a manager who is an absolute genius. ‘I can only see this team winning all three trophies.’ Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal admitted his side were outclassed by Guardiola’s men. He said: ‘We played a rival who were better than us in this match. They pretty well overwhelmed us. ‘We can recognise that City were better. We were lacking something. It wasn’t attitude we were lacking but we allowed ourselves to be pressed back too much. In the second half, we had our best moments. ‘We knew that City were very strong at home but, after the first leg, we were left with the feeling that we could be better than this here, better on the ball. ‘We are Madrid; we’ll come back stronger and we’ll work really hard next season to be back at this stage of the tournament.’